Category Archives: Provider

OSI Industries has been in business for over a century. It began as a butcher shop on the streets of Chicago and eventually evolved into a wholesale company. It was a regional company for many years but began to expand nationally after Ray Krock established the first McDonald’s franchise in 1955 and chose this company to be his supplier of ground beef.

Back then all meat was shipped fresh. It was an advance in freezing technology which enabled meat to be shipped in a frozen state. This advancement meant that they could send food much further. It also allowed McDonald’s to vastly chop down its network of meat suppliers, going from well over a hundred to just four. Needing a new facility dedicated to McDonald’s meant that OSI Industries needed to take out a loan in order to build it. They turned to Sheldon Lavin who was a financier at the time. He found a lender and the facility was duly built. The management of this company at the time was the two sons of the original founder, Otto Kolschowsky. They were impressed by Sheldon Lavin and convinced him to join as a partner and the chief executive officer which he accepted.

OSI Industries is now a multinational company with a global supply chain. As of 2016 they had sales of $6.1 billion a year and made the Forbes list of the biggest privately held companies in the nation, coming in at #58. They have expanded into many countries and have built a number of joint ventures with other food processing firms over the years.

One company they have partnered with is Turi Foods of Australia. They merged their Australian operations and created a new joint venture known as Turosi Pty Ltd. Sam Cuteri is the chairman of the board of Turi Foods. When the companies unveiled their plans in May 2018 he put out a statement saying that both of these companies share similar cultures and visions. He was looking forward to combining his team with that of OSI Industries offering world-class food solutions to their customers.

David McDonald, the president and COO of OSI Industries, also released a statement in which he said both companies have strong reputations and were a good fit. The joint venture would result in a company with huge potential that could offer innovation and opportunities to their customers throughout Australia.